Divine Intervention
by nofilter
Summary: Growing up in a Catholic convent taught Brynn a lot about angels. Unfortunately it all seems to be wrong. In reality the angels suffer from everything humans do only on a much larger scale. Michael is Brynn's guardian angel who never took the time to worry about himself. Gabriel is a runaway who loves his family. Raphael is the hopeless one who's lost all faith. Lucifer is..well...
1. My OCs

**A/N: The story will start in Brynn's childhood before she meets Noah and Maya, but I just want to get this out of the way now so these characters are established.**

 **Braelynn Summers:**

Portrayed by: Emma Roberts

Nicknames: Brynn, Hothead (Noah), Amarillo (Maya)

Species: Human/Demon

Gender: Female

Status: Mortal (Open offer from Maya for a suspension spell that will keep her from aging)

Age: 26

Birthday: Unknown

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Languages Spoken: English, Enochian, Spanish

Background: After being found on the doorstep of a Catholic convent in a singed blanket as a baby, Braelynn was raised by nuns, not counting the years she ran away. The first time she was returned by Micheal, but the second she dropped off the grid.

Abilities: Telepathy, teleportation, vast knowledge of supernatural lore

Disabilities: Abandonment issues, lack of empathy, underdeveloped social skills

Warnings: Do not piss this girl off. Her abilities are tied to her emotions and can cause destruction if she gets too rattled.

 **Noah:**

Portrayed by: Cameron Monaghan

Nicknames: Ginger (Brynn) Manslut (Maya)

Species: Shifter

Gender: Male?

Status: Immortal

Age: Unknown

Birthday: Unknown

Sexual Orientation: Uhhhh...

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish

Background: Shapeshifters, or shifters for short, can take the form of anyone. Consequently however, they have no base form of their own, and are doomed to an eternity alone unless they manage to steal someone else's life. Noah met and nearly killed Brynn when he took the form of one of her colleagues at the diner she was working at at the time. She spared his life and gave him his name, helping him begin his own existence.

Abilities: Shapeshifting, speed, strength, agility, regeneration, vast knowledge of manipulation and torture

Disabilities: Violent tendencies, identity problems, low-self esteem

Warnings: Unless you want to be road kill in eight different states DO. NOT. MESS. WITH. HIS. GIRLS.

 **Maya Cornwell:**

Portrayed by: Clara Lago

Nicknames: Spaniard (Brynn) Wicked Witch of the West (Noah)

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Status: Immortal

Age: 703

Birthday: October 24th

Sexual Orientation: Lesbian

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, Latin

Background: She's a witch. At the age of thirteen, she used magic to kill the horrible man her father was setting her up with, and later her father as well. She dove into studying the craft and it has since kept her young. She met Noah and Brynn when she put a curse on him for not understanding her 'go to hell' when he flirted with her in a bar. Brynn forced her to remove the curse, though neither is entirely certain how the witch ended up traveling with them.

Abilities: Spells and witchcraft, teleportation, vast knowledge of history, as she lived through it

Disabilities: Trust issues, culture shock, distaste for men (with the exception of Noah, though he'd argue otherwise)

Warnings: If you're the kind of guy who thinks women should stick to the kitchen, stay _far_ away from this one. She saves the worst curses for your type, despite the fact that she is an excellent cook.


	2. Prolouge

St. Katherine's Convent, Minnesota, 1986

It was hot. Far too hot. Flames licked at her skin but she could not see them. All she could see was the man, smirking at her, his eyes an unnatural yellow. She tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth.

Someone else was yelling though. Someone was yelling her name.

"Braelynn!"

The small girl shot awake in her bed, jumping as the it returned to its place on the ground with a thud. Oh, not again! Nervous eyes darted to the door, praying it would remain shut. When the room remained quiet, she let out a breath of relief. She reached for the light on her bedside table, flicking it on to see the damage she had caused this time.

The room was small, and the miniscule amount of belongings were scattered, but the windows were still intact this time, so that was good. She had never been sure why things happened when she got upset; at first it had been fun, to get a book from a high shelf without needing the ladder, or to make a cookie zoom into her hand right behind cook's back.

But the sisters at the convent had quickly taught her that it was no laughing matter. They said she was cursed by the devil. Braelynn knew she wasn't, but took little comfort in it. The man with the yellow eyes was most certainly not the devil, but he had cursed her.

Several years ago when one of the sisters had brought her to Mother Superior after finding her on the front steps of the convent, they had called her their little miracle. There had been no note with the baby, no sign of where she had come from save for what she was wrapped in: a small, red hand-knitted blanket that smelled like smoke. They had gotten her name from the purple stitching on the side 'Braelynn.'

The girl despised the name, and had quickly taken Brynn as a substitute. Things had been good for a while, perhaps being raised in around only adult women and no other children was not the best thing for her, but it was all Brynn had ever known, and it made her happy. She liked hearing stories of the angels and the saints, she liked learning prayers, and she liked being the sister's 'miracle baby.'

That had all changed the day after her fourth founding day. As they didn't know her birthday, the nuns had founding day parties to celebrate the day Brynn had come to them. There had been games, presents, and cook had made a cake with her name spelled out in chocolate.

Brynn clutched the St. Anthony medal that still hung around her neck. St. Anthony was the patron saint of miracles and lost things. The medal had been a gift from Mother Superior; there was an engraving on the back that read 'To our little miracle.'

Brynn had gone to bed happy and full of cake. The next morning had been the first time she'd woken up with her bed not on the floor.

As any child would be, Brynn had been eager to show off her newfound skill. It had not been received well. That had been the first time she had been locked in the shrine room to plead forgiveness.

Except she hadn't. She had prayed, but for answers instead. She didn't understand why the man with the yellow eyes was haunting her, she didn't understand why she had these powers, and she didn't understand why the nuns were suddenly so afraid of her when they had told her they loved her and kissed her goodnight the night before.

She had not received answers, and perhaps she never would. The nuns continued to be afraid of her abilities, even when she did her best not to use them. She couldn't help it sometimes, they were tied to her emotions, and there was nothing more upsetting than having the only family she had ever known insisted she had been cursed by the devil.

Soft brown eyes fell on the wooden cross that hung on the wall, a crucified Jesus carved onto it. Brynn knew the story well, but had begun to wonder if it was just that: a story.

Surely if there really were angels and a God like the nuns said someone would have come to her aid by now? The man with the yellow eyes was a monster, weren't angels supposed to protect them from the devil and his monsters?

She laid her head in her hands, her light brown hair falling over her face. It wasn't fair! She was a good girl, she prayed, she paid attention in her lessons, she listened to the nuns – well, except for when they locked her in the shrine room. It was cold down there.

Pulling the old red blanket she kept under her pillow into her chest for comfort, Brynn ran her hand over the purple stitching. Someone out there had made this blanket, someone had taken the time to spell her name in thread. Someone had loved her, at least a little. But they had left her at the convent, turning on her as quickly as the nuns had. Brynn wondered if they knew about the curse, if perhaps they had been present when it had been set.

Her eyes again fell on the door, fearing the world that lay outside it. A world where she was no longer a miracle, she was a curse.

Truthfully she didn't want to be either. She just wanted to be a kid.


	3. The Angel's Demon

Anoka Minnesota, 1986

"Stop her! She's a thief!"

Brynn ducked into an alley, panting to catch her breath as she wished she had asked the nuns to take her into town more. It was as though St. Katherine's had been in another world, and now she was a fish out of water in this one. There was no Christian charity, there was no noble wisdom, there was only a seven-year-old out on the streets with no money and lousy thievery skills.

"Braelynn."

The poor child jumped about a foot in the air, turning on her heel to face the man that _certainly_ hadn't been in the alley with her a minute ago. He looked strange, and not strange like the people she had seen since leaving the convent, though granted casual wear was a big step away from a robe and headdress.

No, this man had a robe as well, though it fit tighter than what the nuns wore and shimmered like metal. He had a stern face that reminded Brynn of Mother Superior just before she shut and locked the door to the shrine room.

"Braelynn." He spoke her name again, this time taking a step towards her which made her take a step back.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" she demanded.

"It does not matter -"

"Which way did she go?" a voice from the street shouted. The man sighed, as though the whole situation inconvenienced him. He laid a hand on Brynn's shoulder and the next thing she knew they were on top of the building they had previously been standing next to.

Brynn jumped away from the man, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. "How'd we get up here?!"

"Because I'm an Angel of the Lord."

The air froze. Brynn was certain the heat from the sun was no longer reaching the Earth. "You can't be!"

"Why not?"

"Because they don't exist! They're just stories the nuns used to tell!" Angels weren't real. Brynn had finally come to terms with that, why was this man showing up now?! Perhaps God had a twisted sense of humor.

"You do not have to believe me. You just have to listen."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do." The man said, giving her one of those looks she got when she misbehaved.

"I don't give a damn what you are! You're not the boss of me!"

"You need to listen to me." He said, not at all effected by her yelling.

"Why?"

"Because its important."

Brynn wanted to scream some more. She wanted to accuse this man of blasphemy. She wanted to run and return to her life on the streets.

She looked around her. For one thing, there wasn't an easy way to get off this roof; she'd have to jump down to the top floor of the fire escape. For another, she was on the roof where she had been down on the ground moments ago.

"Alright." She surrendered. "You've got my attention."

"Good." He nodded. "Why did you leave the convent?"

"They didn't want me." She shrugged. The man before her was claiming to be an angel, it didn't surprise her that he knew about the convent. "Said I was cursed by the devil."

"You think you are not?" he asked her with narrow eyes.

She shook her head. "The man with the yellow eyes isn't the devil. He just works for him."

"Which isn't any better."

"It's not the same. Devil would just kill me; the man with the yellow eyes needs me."

"You do not know my brother very well, do you?"

Ah yes, the devil was an angel, something so very easily forgotten. There were about a million different versions of why Lucifer had been cast down, but the most popular was his rebellion after God had created the humans.

"He's locked in Hell isn't he?"

"Because of my father, yes."

"The I'd wager you don't know him very well either."

"I know him better than most." There was something in his eyes when he said that, something that betrayed his otherwise stoney features. A hint of a long ago memory of a time that was missed, and…perhaps guilt?

Brynn rolled her eyes, not at all in the mood to get into another argument about biblical lore; she had left those behind with the convent. "You haven't told me why you're here."

"I'm here to watch over you."

She snorted, finding the idea quite laughable. "Me? What for?"

"Because it is what I was told to do." He said, as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"And you always do as your told? Because I've known you for ten minutes and I already have the impression you'd like to leave me to die in a gutter."

"I'd like to. Doesn't mean I will."

"Why not?"

"Because I will not disobey my father." Brynn couldn't help it. She laughed. Perhaps she was pressing her luck, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "What?" the angel demanded.

"You sound just like the nuns!" she said through her laughter. "'God is the great good! He can do no wrong! Praise him!'"

"The nuns are right!"

"If they were, you and I wouldn't be standing here."

"Oh?"

"If God's so good with a perfect plan for us all, then why's the man with the yellow eyes - hell why's the devil even an issue? By your logic, either there shouldn't be any evil in the world, or the big guy just likes to torture us." It was a question she had asked many times, but not one she'd ever received an answer to. She figured the lack of one spoke for itself.

"He has given us the gift of free will so that we can make our own lives. Whatever happens happens because of one's own stupidity. As for my brother and _his_ creations? Those are not for my father to control. That is Lucifer's own doing."

He sounded very sure of himself, more so than the nuns ever had and that was saying something. Brynn imagined it was a wonderful luxury to have such unwavering faith, but it wouldn't do you any good if it was in the wrong thing.

"Whatever you say angel boy. See ya around, I'll be off using that free will thing you mentioned." she turned and headed to climb down the building's fire escape, jumping back when the angel appeared in front of her.

"Braelynn, you must not descend down that demon's path."

"Yeah, yeah. Blah blah devil, blah blah apocalypse." She waved him off, resisting the urge to shudder at the memory of the yellow eyed man's voice and what he had said to her. Apparently Lucifer was locked away in Hell and there were plenty of people who wanted him out. Her abilities were supposed to help with that. "I'm not stupid, I just couldn't stand that convent anymore."

He sighed. "Where will you go?"

"Don't know, don't care." she shrugged. "Seeing as my options are nuns that hate me or demon who wants me to lead a war, I'm kinda screwed no matter what."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"I can help you."

"Again, known you for all of ten minutes and already know you hate me."

"I'm your guardian. Perhaps I could...make life at the convent better for you."

Brynn studied the man – angel – before her. In all the stories she had read, angels had always been painted these perfect beings. The man before her was not perfect. Sure, he stood tall, his expression was serious, and he had a sort of imposing presence that made the air around them tingle. But his eyes betrayed him. They were tired, unsure.

Lost.

"….You didn't tell me your name." She finally spoke, her voice much softer than it had been during the rest of their conversation.

"My name is Michael," He introduced himself. "I'm an archangel."

"Well my name's Brealynn, but you knew that. People call me Brynn."

He nodded. "Now, will you allow me to help you?"

"Drop the overly righteous act and I'm sure you and I can get along." She felt very daring, sassing an archangel. Oh, she had heard the stories about him, who hadn't? But again, the man before here did not match up to the stories, so she chose to base her opinion of him on him rather than his reputation.

"Act? That's just who I am-"

"Don't lie." she cut him off. "I've always been able to tell when someone's lying to me. Tell you what: don't assume I'm a lowly human, I won't assume you're a dick of an angel. Deal?" she held out a hand.

He sighed, but humored her, shaking her hand. "Deal."

Life at the convent remained the same; if the nuns had noticed her brief disappearance they never mentioned it. The yellow eyed man still haunted her dreams, and things still went flying when Brynn failed to keep a handle on her powers.

There was a new factor to her life now however: the archangel Michael.

It took quite a while, but eventually his stoney demur faded. He was significantly less threatening when he was more relaxed, especially when he smiled. Brynn discovered that though there were lines of conversation she should avoid, this was the answer she had been looking for. Like any child she was overly inquisitive, and Michael had plenty of stories to offer. He was actually hard to stop once you got him going, but Brynn soaked in all the new knowledge like a sponge.

Not to say the improvement was universal however. While she delighted in the angel's stories and in his smiles, she was still afraid of the man with the yellow eyes. She didn't mention him to Michael very often, having picked up the habit of keeping her mouth shut about her troubles, but there were times when she'd wake up screaming or crying from one of her nightmares and he'd suddenly be there. He never said anything, at least nothing that she understood. He'd sit with her on her bed, hold her while singing a lullaby in a language she did not recognize. That didn't take away from the beauty of it however; his voice would calm her and she'd fall back asleep to no dreams at all, a rare feat indeed. When she woke again, he was no longer there.

Though having an angel in her life gave many answers, it also brought about a million more questions. Brynn decided to ignore them however in favor of enjoying Michael's presence. The logical side of her knew she should ask why his father had assigned him as her guardian, why the yellow eyed demon thought she was going to play such a large role in the Apocalypse, and why she had her abilities in the first place. This all seemed far too serious however, and being a kid – albeit not a _normal_ one – seemed like a far more appealing option.

Brynn was studying the book Michael had brought her from Heaven's library a few days before. The tome was very old, and she felt as though she ought to be wearing gloves while handling it, but so far it had held up. Only half of it was in English however, the other half was written in an odd jumble of symbols that she only knew were text because they lined up like letters would.

The half that was in English however told a beautiful story; one of a world God had created before Earth. It was called Pandora, and the creatures that lived there were entirely one with the nature around them. The drawings in the book depicted them as huge beings with blue skin. They had facial features, as well as arms and legs, but that seemed to be where the similarities between them and humans ended. Brynn wondered idly if the world still existed.

"Brynn." Michael's voice as well as the familiar sound of his wings as he appeared in her room broke into her thoughts.

She looked up from her book and returned the smile he was giving her. "Hello Michael."

"How are you?"

"I'm alright. You?"

"I'm well." He always stood a bit taller whenever she asked about him personally. He called himself the viceroy of Heaven, its leader. Brynn never said it out loud, but she always got the impression he was the type that took care of everything with no one paying any mind to him. "How have your nightmares been?" her smile quickly faded and this brought a frown to the angel's face and concern to his eyes. "Brynn?"

"…He's mad at me." She recounted last night's dream. "He usually is, but now he says if I don't come to him, he's coming for me himself."

It was true that the yellow eyed man wanted her as a willing participant in his plans, but his patience had been wearing thin. Several months ago he had been rather close to getting his wish, the scared little girl desperate for any sense of belonging, even if it was around people who had powers like her's and used them for bad. But after Brynn had met Michael his progress had gone out the window. The angel had always told her that she had a choice; in how she used her powers, in how she lead her life. She did not have to be bound to a horrible fate simply because of that demon's curse, and she clung to that like a lifeline. Lately however, it seemed as though the demon planned on taking away that choice.

"I will protect you." Her guardian assured instantly.

"How? You're not always here, you've got heaven to worry about. And if he finds me, I'm never gonna see you again." she said. The thought of loosing the only good thing that had happened to her since discovering her abilities was distressing enough to make them flare up, but Brynn pushed the feeling down.

"Do you trust me, Brynn?"

"Course."

"Give me your hands." She laid her small hands in his offered ones without hesitation, and every nerve ending she had was suddenly alive. The world around her warped and was replaced by an office with ancient looking furniture and white walls.

"Where are we?" Brynn looked around at the change of scenery as Michael dropped her hands and turned to look for something on the shelf against the wall.

"Heaven."

"Don't I have to be dead to be here?"

"Not with me."

"Cool." Mother Superior eat your heart out.

Michael found what he was looking for and turned back to her as he unrolled the scroll in his hands. "Now I need you to understand, this is very Arkane magic. We used to use it to hide ourselves in times of war. It'll keep you hidden from the demon."

"How's it work?" Brynn asked, slightly put off by the word 'Arkane', but her heart leapt to her thought at the thought of the yellow eyed man not being able to steal her away.

"Very delicately." He studied whatever was written on the scroll before looking up to meet her eyes. "Are you ready?"

Brynn nodded, despite the uncomfortable feeling itching up her spine. It still threw her for a loop to think that the most powerful angel of Heaven had been assigned as her guardian, let alone the fact that he existed at all. Add that to the fact that she was standing in an office somewhere in _Heaven_ about to have an Arkane spell preformed on her and Brynn was left with a resounding case of culture shock.

Michael read the words off the scroll; they sounded like the language the lullaby he sang to her was in. Then there was a sharp pain that felt like someone was painting something on her arms with paint made of fire. She cried out and tugged down her sleeves to look at the offending marks: symbols that she was certain were the same language as the other half of her book

"Are you alright?" Michael asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Do these symbols mean it worked?" He nodded. "Then I'm good."

Her angel smiled softly and took her hand once more, flying them back to her room at St. Katherine's. He picked up the book that had been abandoned on her bed. "How are you enjoying your new reading material?"

"Well only half of its in English. But the half I can understand is fascinating."

"Good." He nodded.

"What's the other half written in?" she questioned curiously. If she was branded with the language now, she might as well know what it was.

"It's Enochian."

"What's that?"

"It's the language of the angels."

"So you can understand it?"

"Of course."

"Can you teach me?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, looking surprised which wasn't an emotion she'd seen him express. "Really?"

She nodded. "I want to be able to understand the rest of the book. Plus, it's your language, and you already speak English so it's only fair that I take the time to learn Enochian."

He smiled softly. "Alright then."

Something seemed to unlock in the angel that day, as if Brynn had finally broken his walls. This brought a whole new bout of adventures, not only in learning Enochian – or attempting to rather – but also in trips to Heaven.

Though places as simple as the office, which she had learned was Michael's, offered the feeling of peace that came with the Holy City as a whole, there was a nearly endless world outside of it waiting to be explored.

She wasn't allowed in places like the personal heavens of the souls that had passed and come to their paradise. Nor was she allowed in the conference rooms where the angels received orders and made plans for whatever it was they were doing. Trips to Heaven were often limited to the Holy library, and occasionally the plains where the angels flew, not that Brynn was complaining.

The librarian angel certainly was however. Brynn supposed it must be rather jarring to find a human who had not passed on wandering about in Heaven.

"Who are you?" the angel demanded, his wings that reminded Brynn of coffee just after cream had been added arching up behind him.

"My name's Brynn." She informed, staring up at him. As she was barely eight years old she was used to people being bigger than her, but angels always managed to appear rather bigger despite the fact that they stood at the average height of an adult. Brynn had decided it was the wings. "What's yours?"

"Balthazar." The angel answered shortly. "What are you doing here little human?"

"Michael brought me to look at the books." The name of the archangel produced the small, but noticeable reaction it did in every angel Brynn had said it to. As the leader of Heaven, her guardian's name opened many doors in the domain. Still, Brynn worried over upsetting any angel whether they were under orders not to harm her or not. "Is that okay?"

"I suppose if Michael brought you here." There was that look again, the distain for her presence, only tolerated because Michael had ordered it so. "Just don't break anything."

"Yes sir." She nodded quickly. "Erm…I was reading the story of Moses. You wouldn't happen to know it?"

"Know it, I was there."

"Could you tell me about it?" Brynn said eagerly, before she could stop herself. Though Heaven's library held a far better record of history than anything on Earth, nothing compared to hearing the first-hand account of the angels that had been there.

A surprised look crossed Balthazar's face. "Why so interested?"

"I like stories." Brynn said simply. "And they always sound better first-hand."

The angel folded his arms and studied her a moment. Brynn knew that look, that was how angel looked at her soul, studying it as if critiquing its value. It made her feel uncomfortable, but the look faded quickly as Balthazar un-folded his arms to wave her to the side, motioning for her to make room on the bench she was sitting on. Brynn scooted over and allowed the angel to sit next to her, doing her very best not to stare as his wings stretched out behind them.

"So its like this…."

This was how Michael found her a few hours later after he had finished his archangel duties. At some point the conversation had turned from biblical lore to the origins of animals.

"What's so funny?" the archangel observed his charge and Heaven's librarian laughing on the bench next to one of the book cases.

"You are! Did you really stretch the giraffe's neck too far on accident?"

Michael's wings fluffed behind him indignantly while Balthazar looked rather sheepish. Michael's wings had always been Brynn's favorite. As an archangel he had three sets instead of one, and his feathers were a certain blend of blue and green that she could only compare to a driftwood fire; ever changing depending on how he moved them.

"It was one of the first creatures I designed. You should have seen Gabriel putting together the platypus."

Brynn lit up at the mention of the youngest archangel. From the stories she had heard of him he sounded like the most laid back, and most likely the angel most willing to spend time playing 'foolish' games with a child.

"Well I'm sure he's got plenty of stories about you? Where is he?"

The angel's easy moods leaving the air were palpable. Brynn's smile slipped from her face as she looked between them.

"He's gone." Michael said simply.

For all the stories he offered, Michael rarely mentioned his fellow archangels. There were four in total, Lucifer who was locked in hell and obviously a sore subject, Gabriel who was obviously the most easy going but who Brynn eventually discovered had fled Heaven not long after Lucifer's fall, Raphael who was Heaven's resident healer and cared very little for humans which was probably why Brynn had yet to meet him, and Michael himself Brynn's guardian angel.

Though trips to Heaven weren't as often as she would have liked, and she always returned to the convent before sunset – though she was certain time in Heaven ran differently than time on Earth – she began to pity the nuns she lived with. They understood so little, yet they thought themselves enlightened. They did not know that the angels they so adored were not as perfect and fearless as they thought they were. If anything, Brynn would dare to say they were just people with wings; flawed, afraid, and unsure. They were not spared from hardships any more than humans were, they simply lived long enough to learn to hide it better.

It was this thought that lead her to Mother Superior's room, a place she had not dared to go in years. She knocked firmly on the door, and waited for the 'Come in.' from inside.

"Mother Superior?" Brynn asked as she stepped into the room.

"Yes child, what is it?"

"I-I wanted to talk to you. About the angels."

"What of them?"

"They're real mam."

"Of course they are, foolish girl."

"No, I mean they're _really_ real! I've seen them!"

This got the old woman's attention. "What on Earth do you mean?"

"The archangel, Michael, he's my guardian."

"Well, he guards us all. Even the accursed ones."

Brynn tried not to flinch at the word 'accursed.' "He's _my_ guardian mam. He said his father assigned him to me." She smiled. "He's my best friend."

"You're close to blasphemy." Mother Superior's voice was growing cold.

"It's the truth mam! He took me to Heaven! I got to meet other angels!" she pulled up her sleeves. "Look! He gave me protection marks! Now the man with the yellow eyes can't find me! Everything's gonna be okay!"

 _Smack!_

Brynn cried out and coward back, bringing a hand to her stinging cheek.

"You will not speak of God's holy soldier's this way!" Mother Superior snapped. "It is one thing to lie about what you are, but to lie about the sainted ones is a new level of sin, you accursed child! You should be ashamed of yourself!" she grabbed her wrist harshly and pulled her from the room. "You will go down into the shrine room, and you will _not_ come out until God has forgiven you!"

"No Mother Superior! No! Please, I'll be good!"

Brynn thrashed and pulled as she was dragged down the hall. Crosses, paintings, even the rungs under the handle on the staircase flew out of their positions and in the direction of passerby. The nuns all jumped out of the way and kept their heads down as if they could not hear the cries of the child.

When she was finally let out of the shrine room, Brynn ran to her bedroom in tears, the door slamming itself shut. She cried into her pillow, once again wishing she were normal. She loved her angel friends, truly she did. She even loved the sisters at St. Katherine's and Mother Superior, but life would be _so_ much easier if they were not a part of it. She felt guilty and selfish for it, but as she held tightly to her baby blanket she wished the person who had stitched her name in that purple thread had kept her with them and raised her as a normal child with birthdays instead of founding days. A mother and father instead of nuns and angels. Just a normal child, it had been her only wish for as long as she could remember.

Brynn had been taught to be grateful for what she had, but what she had was complicated and made little sense on a good day. Was a simple thing really so much to ask?

She sat up on her bed and wiped her eyes. One of her hands came down on the silver chain around her neck. Her St. Anthony medal. Brynn held it and ran her thumb over the image of the man holding the lost child. She turned it over and read the engraving for what had to be the hundredth time.

'To our little miracle'

A fresh set of tears blurring her vision, Brynn yanked the medal over her head and threw it at the wall.


	4. A Year Of Silent Prayer

St. Katherine's Convent, Minnesota, 1989

It was shortly after Brynn's tenth founding day – though it went uncelebrated – that Michael appeared in her room with a wide smile.

"Take my hand." He said before she could even say hello. "I have a surprise for you."

Ever a curious child, Brynn did as told and felt the now familiar feeling of being flown up into Heaven. Michael had taken her to the plains where the angels flew leisurely, taking the time to stretch their wings and simply enjoy being in the air. She had watched them a few times, in awe of the of the brilliant wings that were a different color for every angel and expanded at least double the length of their bodies.

But there was a small building at the edge of the plain now, and Michael lead her to it. The building turned out to be a stable and in it an angel with wings the color of a raven's feathers was brushing out the fur of an _actual_ Pegasus.

Her jaw dropped and the little girl inside her screamed. Sure, true to her nature she had always admired horses and ponies, but this one was far better than anything she could have imagined. The stallion's body was a warm purple, its wings, hair and tail a deep red. He shook his feathers similar to the way an angel would as the raven winged angel ran his brush over them.

"He's beautiful…."

"He's yours." Michael informed.

Brynn's already wide eyes went to her guardian. "Mine?"

He nodded, still smiling widely. "I thought you might like to learn to fly."

If it was possible, her eyes went wider. "Oh, yes please!"

Michael chuckled. "Well go on then, introduce yourself."

Brynn hesitantly stepped into the stable with the angel and the Pegasus, reaching to the latter's face to allow him to sniff her. Once he had, she slowly moved her hand into his mane, marveling at how soft it was. "Hello. My name's Brynn. What's yours?"

"He doesn't have a name yet." The raven winged angel informed. "You'll have to give him one."

Brynn studied the stallion before her a moment. "Jude." She decided. "He's the patron saint of hope."

"So he is." The angel nodded. "It's a good name."

"What's yours?"

"Castiel. It's an honor to meet your Braelynn."

She winced at the sound of her full name. "Brynn, please."

Once she was finally up in the air with the angels, it took her a moment to get her bearings. The saddle that Castiel had taught her to put on Jude held firmly to both the Pegasus and herself, but being up in the air was something else entirely. Still, the angels were very sure of themselves, never bumping into one another, never wavering once. And Jude was clearly far more used to flying than she was if the way he was gliding and swooping without her needing to guide him was any indication.

After a while, Brynn slowly got the courage to put her arms out. The wind was wiping around her, her hair was flying back behind her, and absolutely nothing seemed to matter. Not the nuns, not the demon with the yellow eyes, not even being normal. She was completely free.

This was _amazing_. This was _perfect_.

This was far too good to be true.

St. Katherine's Convent, Minnesota, 1991

It was under the sunshine and blue sky of a good day that things went horribly wrong. Brynn sat under one of the trees in the yard behind the convent, practicing her Enochian with one of the books from Heaven's library. She had collected a far few by now, stored in her backpack to be kept with her at all times. Balthazar occasionally complained about how she never returned her books, but they always appeared back in her backpack whenever she gave them back to him.

The sound of angel wings made her look up, but she did not recognize the three angels that stood before her. Then again, they took on vessels on Earth, so it was possible she had seen them in Heaven.

"Hello Braelynn."

"Hello. Who are you?"

There was an air of tension in their voices that made her uneasy, a feeling she had long since stopped associating with angels. Closing her book and sliding it into her backpack she stood. "Where's Michael?"

"Michael has sent us to...dispose of you."

"...What?" the child's voice came out small, her mind trying to rationalize the angel's words, trying to find some meaning of the word 'dispose' that didn't mean...

"He's sick of you, Braelynn."

"You're lying!" She accused.

"Why would I lie?"

"Michael's my friend! He cares about me!"

All three of them laughed, "Is that really what you think?"

"It's the truth!"

"No, it's not." A silver knife that Brynn recognized as an angel blade slid down from one of the angel's sleeves. "You're a freak of nature that was never meant to exist. It is our job to eradicate you. Any last words?"

Brynn couldn't answer the question, too choked up to speak. The angel dove at her with the knife and she shut my eyes, bracing for the impact. It never came.

It took her a few moments to open her eyes to find she was standing in the middle of a field. Where, she didn't know, but she could no longer see the convent. She couldn't see anything but weeds and overgrown grass.

She had teleported. Michael had told her once that demons could do that, so with her abilities it was possible she could as well, but she'd never tested it.

Michael….Oh God, Michael…

Brynn fell to her knees and chocked on a sob, the voice of the last person she wanted around echoing in her ears. "Brynn…" She held her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to block the demon out. While Michael's spell kept him from finding her, the connection remained, allowing the demon to give her nightmares and reach into her head at her weakest moments.

And through her entire life, it's doubtful that there was a moment weaker than this.

"Brynn!"

"Stop it…"

"Why should I? This is the best moment of all time! Your little angel friend turned on you!"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

She could feel them, her powers. She always could, at times it was like a parasite living inside of her, fighting to take control, wanting to burst forth and cause as much destruction as possible.

"Aw look at you! You actually thought that angel of yours loved you! Now look! You're all alone!"

"Get outta my head!"

"Not a chance! You're mine now!"

"Never!" She shouted, her voice scratchy with tears. "We both know you can't find me unless I come to you willingly."

"Oh you will. You haven't got any other choice!"

The demon's words were true, but she did not want them to be.

" _ **Leave me alone!**_ "

Power burst from the small child in waves, ripping up the grass and trees within a twenty-foot radius and leaving her in a dirt crater crying.

Somewhere cold, 1992

 _Dear Michael,_

 _I don't know where I am. I suppose that's good, as it means you don't know either. I won't bore you with stories of how I've tried to rationalize your actions, in fact I want you to know that I've elected to ignore them. Well, to some degree at least. Perhaps I've romanticized your memory, but I'd like to focus more on the positive moments we shared. You telling me stories about your father and your siblings, teaching me Enochian, flying above the plains with me and Jude. You were my best friend, and though you were stern and hard-headed, I always thought of you as a kind, brave angel who loved his family very much. A family I once thought myself a part of._

 _Perhaps the man I knew did not exist, perhaps he was only a face you put on for me, but he is the man I choose to remember. He is the reason that I am still alive, and I will always love him._

 _He also taught me that I had a choice, that I didn't have to be part of the plan to bring about the Apocalypse, despite how appealing what the demon offers may sound some days. It is because of him that I have not taken that offer, though I confess that I have come rather close more than once._

 _If even a part of that man was real, I sincerely hope you hold onto him. He was a good man, and I wish that more people got to know him._

 _Amen._

Brynn sighed and flipped the notebook she had purchased with someone else's credit card shut. Far too used to praying, first to God then to the angels she made friends with, it had been difficult to get out of the habit for the sake of her own safety. Praying now would alert whomever she was praying to to her presence, and the fact that she was flying under the radar was the only reason her assassins had not come to finish the job.

She ran her fingers over the protective runes on her arm, wondering what had gone wrong. Perhaps she didn't understand angels as well as she thought she did – perhaps she didn't understand anything as well as she thought she did. It seemed a cruel pattern; first her parents, then the nuns, then Michael. All had loved her, or at least she thought they did, and all had turned on her.

A feeling of bitterness overcoming her, she flipped the notebook open again, the pencil flying into her open hand.

 _Dear God,_

 _Screw you._

 _Amen._


	5. The House Of Gods

Hastings Nebraska, 1992

While honing her abilities was a part of her everyday routine, Brynn purposefully did not use them to steal. The last thing she needed was someone screaming about their wallet floating out of their pocket.

Though to be fair, what happened next probably wouldn't have happened had she used her powers.

The man caught her wrist just as it was pulling his wallet out of his pocket. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What the hell do you think _you're_ doing?" Brynn countered off the top of her head.

"Me? You're the one trying to steal my wallet!"

"And you're the one who's getting his wallet stolen by a thirteen-year-old!" His 'you're insane' expression quickly became a glare, but it wasn't the least bit threatening. "You think you scare me?"

"I should."

"You don't."

They had a sort of staring contest for a moment before the man smirked and released her arm. "What's your name kid?"

"Brynn."

"Brynn? Nice to meet you Brynn. My name's Loki."

"Loki?" She raised an eyebrow. "Like the Norse god?" Angels, demons, sure why not gods?

"Like the Norse god? Honey, I _am_ the Norse god."

"Prove it."

"I don't have to prove myself to you."

"So you're nothing but talk then?"

The look he gave her clearly said he didn't like to be challenged. In a strangely familiar bend of reality, they were suddenly off the street corner and in a house fancy enough to be a museum.

"Well?" He smirked.

"Nice parlor trick. You're still not getting this back though." She said, holding up his wallet.

"You can keep it," he shrugged. "I'm a god. I can make myself another one."

"You think you're impressive."

"I _am_ impressive." He said, a tinge of a whine in his tone.

"You wish." She chuckled.

"Loki." a woman at the top of the huge marble staircase called down. "There you are. I was starting to think you'd be gone all day." her eyes landed on Brynn. "What's that?"

"It's a human child."

"What is it doing here?"

"I brought it here."

"It has a name thank you!" Brynn shot Loki a look. He simply shrugged. "It's Brynn." She informed the woman.

"Kali." She said shortly.

"Nice to meet you Kali."

"I know." She turned back to Loki. "Will you be keeping the stray long?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"Well just make sure she doesn't cause any trouble." She said, turning and heading back down the hall.

"That lady is not gonna like me." Brynn informed with a shake of her head. "Trouble is my middle name."

"Mine too," Loki smirked.

"Hm. You suddenly become more interesting."

And that was how Braelynn spent the day pranking from all sorts of different religious. While she didn't know much about any religious besides Christianity, the deities she and Loki were messing with were still very powerful. She should have been afraid, but she wasn't. Perhaps it was the fact that Loki had taken a liking to her, perhaps she was overconfident enough in her abilities to think she could take on the gods, or if that failed simply teleport away.

Perhaps she simply knew she had nothing to lose.

"Are you ready?" Loki whispered.

"Let's light this baby!" He lit the fuse with a snap of his fingers and Brynn threw it into Baldur's room. The god shouted as it exploded into about a million paint colors. Loki busted out laughing as he leaned back against the wall.

"Loki!" Baldur shouted, making him stiffen.

"Run kid." They took off down the hall, the threat behind them not at all as threatening as it should have been "Woo-hoo!" Loki laughed. We slid across the floor, ducking into one for the many rooms. Loki and I slid down to the floor and attempted to catch our breath. "That was awesome!"

"Totally!"

He beamed. "You're alright kid."

"You're not so bad yourself."

"Well thank you!"

It was silent a moment before he looked at her with a more serious face that didn't really suit him. "So what were you doing stealing wallets in the street anyway?"

Brynn shrugged. "Food cost money." While she could easily steal that too, stores often had security cameras in place, making the option of stealing the money much easier.

"Where's your family?"

"You tell me."

He frowned. "You mean to tell me you're living on your own out on the streets?"

"Technically I'm living in the abandoned warehouse on 46th."

"Oh Brynn…"

She scowled. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Give me those stupid pity eyes. I don't need a home, and I don't need a family. I can take care of myself."

"Right. That's why you're getting caught stealing wallets."

"Hey, I ended up in a house made of marble and gold." She countered, making him chuckle.

"Touché. You know it's a pretty big house..." he looked around idly.

"Yes it is."

"And...I dunno. I guess having a new face around could be interesting."

Brynn raised an eyebrow. "Am I being invited to live in a house full of gods?"

"Only if you want."

"Sounds like fun." She smiled in spite of herself. Sure, being a kid living on the streets lead to an occasionally bout of charity, but it never lasted. Screw it though, it was close to winter and the warehouse didn't have heat.

"Is that a yes?"

"Depends; which room's mine?"

He smirked and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet and out of the room they were hiding in. "You ready for this?"

"Nope!" Brynn shook her head, which only made him laugh.

"Welp, here we go!" He pulled her into one of the rooms, probably at random, and threw his arms out in a wide 'ta-da' motion.

"Whoa…." After seeing the rest of the extremely lavish house, the bedroom Loki brought her into shouldn't have surprised her. But it was _huge!_ Perhaps her modest upbringing at the convent left her bias, but she could have fit her room at St. Katherine's in here at least five times! Not that the space wasn't already filled. There was an oriental rug under her feet, large oak furniture with gold accents that had to be older than she was, and the centerpiece of the room was the biggest bed she had ever seen lifted up on a small platform that was covered in purple velvet. The bed itself was made with a red and gold duvet and a pile of embroidered pillows. There was a curricular, golden canopy above it that went up into the ceiling.

"Awesome?" Loki offered.

"This is all for me….?" Brynn asked, hardly daring to believe it. There was charity and then there was… _whoa_ …

"All this and more!" She couldn't help it. She threw her arms around the Norse god, not really having the words to express how she felt. Loki seemed startled, but relaxed after a moment and hugged her back. "You're welcome…"

The bedroom, as it turned out, was a full sixed suite complete with a fully stocked bathroom. At first it boggled her mind how everything was prepared for her despite the fact that no one knew she'd be coming, but after spending the day with Loki she simply chalked that up to the Norse god's magic. It took a while to figure out how to use the fancy fixtures, and there were several things Brynn found in the drawers under the sink that she genuinely didn't know what they were, but she wasn't about to complain about being thrown into the lap of luxury.

There was something extremely humbling about trading her ratty old clothes in for a set of silk pjs, especially when she examined some of the other clothing in the dresser. Still, she tucked her old clothes into her backpack with care, sliding it under the bed. She straightened and studied room around her before her eyes landed back on the bed. Unable to contain her gleeful smile, she launched herself face-first into the mattress, squealing when silk slipped against silk and she went into the pile of pillows.

Rolling over, she giggled madly. "This is so cool!" she said to herself. After marveling for a moment at how absurdly soft the bedspread was, she pulled herself up just enough to pull it down, tucking herself in and practically melting into the cloud-like mattress. After spending so much time sleeping in a sleeping bag she had purchased with stolen funds on the concrete floor of her warehouse, it wasn't at all surprising how quickly Brynn fell asleep.

" _Come on sweetheart…We can be your family. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"_

" _Not like this! I'm not like you!"_

" _Oh, but you are honey. You're_ _ **exactly**_ _like me."_

Brynn's eyes snapped open and it took her a moment to remember where she was. The top one percent house full of gods. She was safe here, for now at least.

Climbing out of bed Brynn dug the simplest thing she could find out of the dresser, trying her best not to balk at the labels she recognized as designers, though admittedly there were a few she did not recognize but there was no way they couldn't be.

She wandered out of her room and attempted to find the kitchen. Key word attempted. Not only was she not sure if gods ate, but this house was a literal maze and it wasn't like she had a map.

Once she found the stairs she got distracted looking around and slipped on the runner that covered the marble stairs. She squeaked and stumbled, falling back into a strong pair of arms that had come out of absolutely nowhere.

"Careful now, wouldn't want to stain the tile."

Brynn jumped away, turning to face the dark-haired man, who again had shown up out of absolutely nowhere. "Who are you?"

"I should be asking you that, you're the strange person in my house."

"I asked first."

He smirked slightly. "Mercury. My name's Mercury, and you are?"

"Brynn."

"Ah, so you're the little stray I've been hearing about. Loki always did have a weak spot for a pair of pretty eyes."

"I'll take that as a complement. You know where the kitchen is? I'm hungry."

"Third door on the right." Mercury pointed through the open doorway on the left side of the entry hall. "Race you." And he was gone, as quick as he'd come.

Without even thinking about the repercussions of doing so, Brynn shut her eyes and zapped herself in the direction he had indicated. When she opened them she found herself sitting on the granite countertop of a large kitchen that was just as fancy as the rest of the house. An instant later, the door swung open and Mercury came speeding in.

He blinked when he saw Brynn already there. "H-how-?" he looked at the doorway behind him.

Brynn simply grinned and slid off the counter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, you want any?"

He stared at her a moment, then he laughed. "Sure, why not?"

Having had a very Christian upbringing, Brynn didn't know much about other religions. She had only recognized Loki's name because she had found a book in Heaven's library that referenced the trickster's trouble making history once.

Mercury was all too willing to educate her however, though he had a bit of a bias towards the Roman religion he originated from. As it turned out the house was a bit of a hub for the gods, a vacation spot when they weren't off doing whatever. Loki was the only one that really stayed there full time; apparently too many religions under one roof caused conflict.

Surprisingly, Brynn took to this new information with the same fascination she had taken with learning more about the angels. There was something about learning the details that were left out of scripture – some perhaps for good reason – that was as exciting as it was extremely humbling.

Not that other religions didn't have their flaws the same way Christianity did. Mercury warned her about which gods to steer clear of; while Loki's fondness of her put her on a certain level of protection, there were plenty of deities that frequented the house that cared very little for mortals – Ganesh apparently liked to eat them.

"There you are kid." Loki's voice made Brynn and Mercury look up from their conversation. "Mercury, I see you've met our newest resident."

"Indeed I have." He nodded. "Quite the inquisitive little thing."

"Mercury was teaching me about the Romans." Brynn informed. "They used to rule the world."

"Is that so?" Loki smirked. "I didn't realize a history lesson required such a mess." He looked around the kitchen.

"I made breakfast." She said innocently. "The flour for the pancakes sort of….exploded."

"Pancakes huh? Any left?"

Brynn pushed the plate she had piled the pancakes onto towards him. "You're outta syrup."


End file.
